Updated American Honda Civic Spied

We reported last week that the US Civic is due to be updated at the end of the November (read HERE), and now this is the proof. Spied recently, the camouflaged Civic visibly wears the newly designed front bumper with more prominent sculpture around the radiator grille housing. The much-thicker grille surrounding is probably following the same trend as the recently introduced Honda Accord. The hood too looks set to receive a restyle with an added creases near to the centre bulge to further emphasize the raised centre section. The bumper fascia is different too with revised surfacing design and lower grille design.

While there's not much can be done on the side profile, the rear end is set to be heavily revised. We think the whole trunk lid, rear light and rear bumper are all set to be revised. The rear light cluster sports a revised internal graphic and will protrude more into the trunk lid panel. The license plate garnish and the fascia surface are revised too as a results of the new tail light. While the upper section of the bumper looks almost similar, the same can't be said for the bottom section. The lower edge has been sharpened and probably will get a reflector panel to increase its appeal, one up from the plain blunt design it is now.

We believe the US version of Honda Civic has a cheaper interior materials than our version. although plastic quality is never been the Civic's strength. However based on our earlier article (HERE) some panels are visibly different in design. The textures evaluation however will need us to fly abroad to test it but we think the Asian version should be more expensively detailed due to market positioning of the car. US media is predicting an improved in material and draw a comparison with the Asian and European Civic.

Despite the bad review and critics from the journalist (and online media worldwide), the sales of the 9th generation Honda Civic in the North America is not that bad actually. This could be the difference between the car reviewer and the car buyer in terms of priority of things and for the buyer, the bland looks could be secondary as they don't look their car while driving. Other aspects like reputation, build quality and service excellence probably overrule everything. Honda however has taken the critics seriously and indeed reacting. Quite an excellent company I would say. 

The enhanced Honda Civic will be introduced at the Los Angeles Motor Show later this month. It will go on sale as the 2013 Model Year in North America. It remains to be seen if the update will filter out to the rest of the market, however it could point to the direction of the facelift version will take in the near future. Some more photos after the jump.

Source:Motortrend